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Google Chrome on my Mac

Today, Google finally released a beta version of their browser Chrome for MacOS X.

Although I really don’t like the way Chrome gathers data while I surf the web, the browser’s actually not that bad.

Damn, it’s FAST!
When fireing the browser up for the first time, you’ll think that the browser has already been pre-loaded into the Mac’s RAM, but that’s not the case. It starts up as fast as an already loaded Safari and leaves Firefox far far behind.

The best of two worlds
Something that I really missed on Safari is a possibility to easily install addons. Chrome isn’t that comfortable like Firefox with its build-in addon installation feature but you can browse through some Chrome extension websites, download an addon manually and install it with a doubleclick. Doesn’t work in the beta though :-(

A robust piece of software
Another useful feature is that Chrome starts every tab in its own process. I really could have used that today when I played around with some JavaScript functions that produced an infinite loop which caused Safari to crash multiple times and take all my other open tabs (Tutorials, Google search results…) down to its cold and dark grave. Really annoying. Chrome definately earns a plus here.

Less is more
But it’s not only the technical side of Chrome that I like. The browser integrates very well into the MacOS X look and feel. The title bar looks very “macish” and minimalistic. Each tab does not simply “pop-up”: It slides smoothly up and down, depending on if you open or close a tab. Very nice.

… BUT I WON’T USE IT !
Ok, so far you might think I switched my browser. But I didn’t. I am currently writing this post on Safari.
Why?
Chrome lacks three very important features that prevent me from “enjoying” it:

No built-in rss-reader :-( . If you click a rss link, the only thing you’ll see is the XML markup behind it. Who on earth builds such a nice and modern browser without a rss reader? I don’t get it. Currently, there are only two ways to read your feeds: Either you setup Chrome to open Safari for you and display the feed there (How shitty is that?) or you install an extension that opens the feed in Google Reader. Both variants suck hard imho. Maybe I’ll have to build my own addon for some Safari-like feed handling. Oh, no wait. Installation of currently available extensions doesn’t work on Chrome for Mac. Awesome.

Privacy. Privacy, privacy, PRIVACY! Do you know how much data Google collects when you surf the web? Only two examples although I could prolly continue this list forever:

If you search for something, using google.com and you’re logged in on your Google account (or use Google Chrome), you’re identifiable. This means, Google knows who you are and what you search for since technically you just send a couple of words to Google. Who said, they’d not save this data to their database? Did you really think they’d delete all the precious informations they gathered about you?
If you search for “Best practices on assasinating Sergey Brin” and you apply for a Job at Google tomorrow, you can be sure not to get the job. I guess.

If you now browse a website about best assasinating techniques and the webmaster uses Google ads, you’re screwed. Adsense sets cookies that store your favourite (website-)topics on your computer. Google knows now that you visited i-kill-sergey.com. Not good.

Ok, the thing is now that if you use Google Chrome, and you don’t turn off all the data-sniffing features like the DNS-caching service, one becomes a glassy human being. So my tip is: Turn that shit off:

Did I already mention that I neither can read my rss feeds nor can I install any extensions on Chrome for Mac? GRRAWGHGHHWHHWGH!!

Maybe these issues will be solved when the Chrome beta ends. Til then, I’ll stick to good old Safari.

If you want to know more, check out this Apple-wannabe video here from Google (hosted on Golem.de) for some “live” picture about Google Chrome:

One last thing: What’s really funny now is that almost all websites that offer plugins for Chrome are suddenly absolutely not or difficult available. Don’t tell me that only a minority is using this browser! Seems like Google is again cutting the grass here, like everything else they touch. Scary.

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2 thoughts on “Google Chrome on my Mac”

Davidsays:

“If you now browse a website about best assasinating techniques and the webmaster uses Google ads, you’re screwed. Adsense sets cookies that store your favourite (website-)topics on your computer. Google knows now that you visited i-kill-sergey.com. Not good.”